Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1887-02-25
In a Shot Tower.

chinery. Passing through and leaving
behind the rumble Of the heavy engine,
a patter like that Of hail is heard. Look
| ing down one sees tank OF water
twelve feet deep. Into this the shot
continually rain.
"Thisis No. shot," said Mr.. Tracy
at falls from the first landing dis
tance of l40 feet. About ihree-fOurths
of it is found 10 be of The desired size,
No. G, as it comes from the water. The
remainder is of different sizes, and
certain small fraction is imperfect and
must be melted again. Now, IL you are
ready for hard climb. we will go up
stairs.
At the first landing stood man with
leather gloves, leather apron and sponge
at nose, before vast cauldron hlled
with molten lead. He was using large
ladle. with which he replenished a east
iron pot standing in a sort of box like
cistern top. Down through the bottom
of this pot, perforated like colander,
the globulcs of lead fell.
"You know" said Mr.. Tracy, "tha.
the discovery of this process came about
all by accident. Some roofers were re-
pairing church spire. One Of the
workmen happened TO notice that the
solder which fell from his lofty perch
was found in tiny globes upon the
ground beneath the steeple. From this
fact he argued that the roundness OF
shape must be caused by the eject OF
the long passage through the air, and
the principle Of the shot tower was
evolved. Till that time all shot was
nodded. Lead melts at about $50 degrees
Fahrenheit. This lead which the man
is handling has Il temperature of some
thing like | 800 degrees. You may inn
agine it is pretty hot. This little kettle
holds 1000 pounds OF lead, which all
goes down In about two hours. We get
pig lead from Omaha and Newark. Gen
orally We carry 375 tons of shot In
stock"
Mr.. Tracy climbed to the second land
ing, lS5 feet above the ground. There
the writer was introduced 10 u furnace
and cauldron for larger-sized shot.
Lead shot," said MIR. Tracy, though
sometimes made of lead alone, is almost
always formed of an alloy of arsenic
and lead. The arsenic is introduced in
the form of arsenious acid or the sui
phuret. The object OF the addition Of
the arsenic is to render the hard, brittle
qualities Of the lead softer aud more
ductile, and Of the proper consistence TO
take the globular form. Owing to the
rapid decomposition of the arsenic, IL Is
treated by itself in the bottom of the
melting kettle. n cover Is placed over
the substance, aud its stem, which rises
up through the kettle, is fastened down.
The lead is then added above the cover,
and VIXEN melted the cover is lifted oht
of the liquid mass, which instantly bO-
comes permeated with the arsenic be-
meath. The alloy thus produced con-
tains forty-fve pounds OF arsenic 10 the
ton of lead, and Is known as temper"
This again is added, in the proportion
OF one per cent. TO the pure lead, and
thus the shot alloy, containing a very
small percentage of arsenic, is produced.
The temper pots" hold about ton Of
metal each. After the shot have reached
the bottom OF the well they are at once
lifted out by all elevator and thrown
upon an inclined drying table, over
which they slide, falling finally into a
wire gauze rotating cylinder. Then
they ale rolled and ground together,
and in this way the minute barrs upon
them are removed. From the cylinder
another elevator lifts the shot upon n
screening table. This consists of se-
ries of planes arranged at gradually de-
creasing heights. Between each two
there is an interval. The shot being
started at the head of the highest plane
will, IL perfect, roll from one plane TO
another, jumping over the intermediate
spaces. II imperfect, however, IL tnm.
bles and goes back 10 the melting ket-
tie. The good shot, after passing this
ordeal, reach the separators. Ii should
be explained that there are usually sew
eral tables, each being devoted to diff
(erent size Of shot. The little leaden
globes are next elevated to the top cyl
inder OF series, arranged on an In
clue. They are conical in form, and
covered with perforated sheet brass.
Each cylinder serves as sieve for
particular size shot, retaining that and
allowing 'll smaller sizes TO escape. The
shifting goes on until each cylinder has
picked out the particular class Of shot 10
which il is adapted. The sizes Of shot
are standard. The smallest is known a
dust and then comes no. l2,' which
is .O5 inch ia diameter, 2 1886 shot going
to the ounce. The sizes then increase
by one bundredths OF an incb UP to
twenty. three hundreds, OF which there
are twenty-four shot to the ounce. The
shot being assorted, polishing alone re-
mains 10 done. This is accomplished by
placing the shot, together with plumba-
go, in box, which is rapidly rotated.
The glossy black smootbness is thus I'm
parted. The shot are then weighed.
baggel and ready for sale. Mall and
Express.
A certain German was very much
blamed by the owner Of vicious dog
which the former bad shot.